Too Close To The Sun
by Frustrated-Orc-Noises
Summary: A winged member of Eru's Ainur who controls wind is stripped of her powers and her wings and is exiled to Middle Earth until she redeems herself, but not before she joins the Fellowship to prove to both herself and the Valar that she is more than her powers. I am garbage at summaries. Rated T to be safe.


Hey all this is my first fic so we'll see how this goes... Constructive criticism is welcome and keeps me going! Flames of course will be ignored.

I own nothing except Zephyr!

Song For The Chapter/Link- WonderWall By Ex Makina (Oasis Cover)/Link:  watch?v=aaRONKwMfUQ

Zephyr was the youngest and the fastest of the winged Ainur and was known by all to be mischievous. The winged spirit often manipulated the wind and fowl of the air to tease and vex mortals that lived far below. Despite Eru's warning: if she continued she would be cast out and cut off from the magic and that she was gifted with. But his words fell on deaf ears and the young Ainur continued her harmful antics. Eru called Zephyr and sentenced her to remain on Arda until she repaired the chaos she had wrought.

Zephyr closed her eyes, allowing shoulder length silver locks to be combed by the Wind, revelling in the rush of the cool air over her skin and the roar of each passing gust in her ears, the rustling of fluttering feathers and the flex of the wing and dorsal muscles with each flap of her powerful falcon-like appendages sending the thrill of flight shooting through her veins. The Ainur opened her eyes to reveal the wind whipped clouds and a giddy laugh bubbles up in her throat at the sight. Without warning, the world went white and the sound of the wind and the feeling of the air rushing beneath her wings ceased. The spirit found herself standing before the throne of Eru the other Valar standing beside him. Their eyes were cold and their faces were taught with anger she felt her heart sink like a heavy stone. Eru only called her this abruptly when he was very angry with one of the spirits and it was quite obvious due to the sizzling energy in the room directed towards her that he was absolutely furious. Zephyr moved to kneel and bowed deeply her wings folding behind her respectfully, her storm-blue eyes focussing intently on the ornate golden patterns that swirled on the floor beneath her feet. The Vala let her stew in her own guilt before speaking, his thundering baritone rumbling in my ribcage and the sensation of magic far beyond her abilities causing her hair to prickle and her skin to tingle uncomfortably with each syllable.

"For the past millennia we have told you to cease your tricks on our children below, but you still continued your ruinous behavior. The council of the Valar has decided your fate. Zephyr, you will live among mortals and you will not be able to use your gifts until you have humbled yourself and have proven to be worthy to hold your gifts once more." Those words sent a jolt of sharp indignation coursing through her and she felt her brows furrow. Was he really going to do this? Zephyr opened her mouth to protest but another flash of white light interrupted her and the young Ainur suddenly felt white hot pain erupt between her shoulder blades. The pain was so intense that she felt her muscles tense violently and for a moment she couldn't draw enough breath to make a sound while her fair face contorted into a silent scream. When the pain receded enough to where she could open her eyes once more. With a choked gasp, Zephyr found herself plummeting towards the ground below, the waves of tree-laden hills hurtling towards her closer and closer with each second, the wind blasting at her face until her eyes watered painfully and her limbs felt the strain. Instinctively the spirit moved to snap out her speckled wings to slow her descent- only they weren't there. The familiar weight of the feathered appendages and the sensation of powerful muscles moving with her will was nonexistent replaced with shooting pain that emerged with each pathetic twinge of her shoulders, with her body failing her Zephyr reached out mentally towards the winds to catch her, but they didn't even seem to know that she existed as if she were a part of the landscape instead of an old friend. She didn't even have time to comprehend her reaction before the ground flew up to meet her.

Awareness came to her in snatches of sensation, little snapshots of piercing light turned pink from behind her eyelids, pain that rippled from a steady ache to a piercing shriek, and babbling water that seemed to be faint and muffled almost as if smothered by thick fabric before going dark once more. Eventually the blackness that she was mired in receded and her mind slowly push its way through the oppressive haze that seemed to press in on her from all sides. Zephyr's eyelids felt like they were weighed down with Mahal's anvil as she struggled to pry them open, only for the light to pierce her eyes like needles forcing her to shut them again. This time she opened her eyes slower, allowing them to adjust to the brightness. She seemed to be lying on her back on the shore of a shallow creek, her legs up to her knees swallowed by the water and for a moment she was perplexed.

She almost never went even remotely close to the ground, let alone stayed there for long periods of time and judging by the state of her rag-reduced grey dress and her filthy skin, she had been laying there for some time. More confused Zephyr moved to sit up to get a better look at her surroundings only for a strangled, almost guttural scream ripped from her lips as the memories and the suffocating pain of scabs ripping open enveloped her mind and blood trickled down shoulder blades. The combined effect of the pain and the anguish was mind-numbing and she felt her vision growing dark, in an effort to stop it she propped herself up on the stones that she lay on rolling on to her left side to stay upright.

Her wings, her powers, what made her Zephyr the fastest of the winged Ainur, was gone. How long she lay there sobs wracking her entire body and causing her whole muscle structure to scream with each intake and shudder. Eventually her breathing slowed and her cries were reduced to guttering hiccups and she could focus again, this time tucking her trembling legs beneath her and gingerly getting to her feet, swaying unsteadily.. As a being so used to having magic within her the absence of it left almost as if a part of her had been violently ripped out of her, leaving a raw gaping hole inside that seemed to sap at her energy leaving her weaker than she ever had been before. Inhaling sharply Zephyr mentally prepared herself to begin walking, where to, she wasn't sure.

She just wanted to fly, fly far away. But she couldn't and the mere thought nearly sent her into a second bout of tears. Biting her lip she shoved away the thought and wiped away the excess tears before starting on her way, each shaky step made chore because of her throbbing shoulders. She wanted, no needed to get away from all of this and if she couldn't fly then she would walk. Anywhere was better than here. As the hours passed Zephyr felt the pain within her beginning to spread numbing tendrils that sunk in its claws and refused to release her. As she continued to move under sheer will alone, what little energy she had mustered up had been used up and she gasped as she felt her unsteady legs give way so that she came to a swaying kneel in the thick leaf litter. As her mind blew out the candles and darkness encroached on her vision once more, the spirit managed to catch the faint sound of advancing hoofbeats.

Wakefulness came slower to Zephyr than it did previously, and she felt almost as if she were bogged down in sticky hot tar and her skull had been stuffed with a heavy wool quilt while her limbs were weighed down with the anvil of Aulë. Slowly but surely, the thick fog over her thoughts and limbs lifted more and more until she could open her gray-blue eyes. With awareness came memories and with that came a wave of anguish so strong it forced her sit upright gasping for air while tears pricked her eyes and flowed down her cheeks, her shoulders bobbing with each hiccup causing her injured back to twinge and burn painfully. Eventually the quiet sobs slowed and the fallen spirit calmed down enough to turn her focus on to her surroundings in an attempt to keep her emotions at bay. Her ruined grey dress had been replaced with a silky white nightgown, her wounds had been treated with some sort of numbing poultice and bandaged snugly and she was laying in a feather-soft four poster bed. The room she was in was small but didn't feel claustrophobic thanks to the large window to her left and the well-spaced wardrobe, nightstand and an ornate silver framed full-length mirror. The entire room seemed to radiate a peaceful atmosphere with the buzzing undertone of ancient, powerful magic. That sensation could only mean one thing- she had been taken in by the elves. After all, only elven homes and other magically powerful places seemed to emit magic enough to be felt. How in Arda had she gotten here, she wasn't sure but she was just glad that she was no longer alone with nothing to keep her company but pain and her sister, anguish.

Before Zephyr could even throw the covers off of her body, the door opened and stunning elleth with hair the color of chestnuts stepped into the room, her leafy green eyes widening and her heart-shaped face expressing her surprise that her patient was awake and moving. "Oh! You're awake!" she exclaimed her bell-like voice soothing her slightly as she moved to feel her forehead and examine her recently changed bandages, nodding in satisfaction before speaking once more. "You look much healthier and your wound is healing nicely. If Lord Elrond gives his blessing you may be able to begin walking today!" She remarked perfectly shaped brows furrowing slightly as she finished her examination. This sparked a glimmer of hope that rose up deep in her chest, allowing her to muster a faint smile that didn't reach her eyes, which despite her attempts at control were pooled with sadness. "Let me fetch you some broth you must be famished!" she said, giving her a warm smile that reminded the injured spirit of a mild spring day before turning and leaving the room once more, presumably to grab what she had proffered leaving her alone once more. A few minutes later she returned with a small bowl of steaming broth and a cup of water balanced on a simple wooden tray which she carefully placed on her lap.

The smell of the broth alone made her mouth water, her stomach making its complaints well known surprising her. It took all of her self control not to snatch the spoon and the bowl out of the other females hands and start guzzling it as fast as she can. The elleth then moved to spoon broth into her mouth only for Zephyr to glare at her, feeling like a toddler rejecting their vegetables as she pushed the spoon away from her face "I can feed myself" she insisted, taking the utensil from her caregivers hand and shakily slurped up her meal, her hand trembling from the strain of feeding herself. She already had lost her wings, her ability to fly and her powers, and she was not about to give up what little independence she had left. She would fight with tooth and nail, kicking and screaming to keep whatever remaining power she had left over herself, even if it were over something so simple as feeding herself or bathing. The elleth, whose name she learned was Aelin threatened her several times to slow down or she would be forced to feed her instead so Zephyr reluctantly reduced her pace, keeping a wary eye on Aelin as she increased her grip on the smooth bowl to keep it from slipping out of her feeble grasp.

After she finished inhaling her liquid meal Aelin returned the empty dishes to the tray and exited the room once more, maybe to have Lord Elrond to take a look at her wounds and hopefully to confirm Aelin's claim from earlier. It would be really nice to be able to move around again, even if it wasn't flying or even running. Just as Zephyr was beginning to grow bored of looking at the walls of her room, the door opened once more revealing not only Aelin but Lord Elrond himself, looking every inch an elven lord with his long dark brown locks and his ageless face that was young and old at the same time. She keenly felt his luminous grey eyes on her that seemed to see right through her as if she were an apparration and not a solid being and she squirmed slightly under his scrutiny, feeling like it was much too soon to be judged once more. With a mental shake, she dislodged the thoughts from the front of her mind and instead shifted as best she could to sit upright, raising her chin slightly and sliding a careful mask across her face, ignoring the shooting pain that wrapped her body tightly from spine to chest, squeezing with a vice-like grip. The youthful spirit noted that he wore a simple silver circlet on his head and pale grey robes lined with swirling designs in silver that made it seem like each step he took never reached the ground.

Another moment passed before the Lord of Imladris spoke, his calm visage shifting slightly with each subtle movement of his lips and his luminous grey eyes locking with hers, seeing much more about herself than she would like. "Welcome to Rivendell, I am Lord Elrond. I am glad to see you awake and well, my sons found you hanging on by a thread near the borders of our lands and they took you in to heal you. You have been asleep for three days now and we feared that despite our efforts your wounds would be too great. But you seem to have healed better than expected, however you may still carry some scars for the rest of your life." He ended gravely. Zephyr smiled back at him almost reluctantly, reflecting for only a moment the tingling pang moving through her at the realization of the time that had already passed her by and for a second she realized that she must never let her downfall be known by anyone, whether it be man, elf, hobbit or dwarf, no one should know of her shame, her pathetic excuse for an Ainur. "Thank you for your hospitality my lord, without your efforts I would have never survived. My name is Sorrun. Just Sorrun." She responded in Common, her head bowing and respectfully keeping her eyes focused on the pale blankets that covered her legs, playing the part of a humble woman from… the countryside of some sort, yeah the countryside. Best to stick with speaking Common then. "It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Sorrun, if your wound is progressing the way it has you may even be able to begin walking around today." He said, his deep yet ethereal voice resonating as he gently moved aside the bandages, his practiced grey eyes scanning her meticulously and elegant fingers lightly probing before replacing them to their original spot with a smile of his own the sight making her perk up and smile wider back. "Well Miss Sorrun, you have my blessing. However, you cannot run or do anything physically strenuous for the next seven days until it is fully healed but you are free to anything that Rivendell has to offer."

Zephyr nodded again, this time more genuine albeit small smile lighting up her face at the thought of moving around again, shoving back the sob in her throat in favor of focusing on the elf lord in front of her. "Thank you again for everything my lord! I am glad to be on my feet again." Aelin's expression also brightened and she proclaimed that she would "find you some proper clothing and some shoes to go with it." Before both the Lord of Imaldris and Aelin left the room. Heaving a sigh of relief that Lord Elrond did not immediately press her with questions before pushing the silky blankets aside and gingerly placed her calloused feet on the cool gray stone mindful of her injury and stood, her normally strong legs wobbling slightly from the weakness of not moving for several days and her wound and stepped towards the mirror in front of her. What she saw shocked her and she made a loud gasp in both dismay and surprise at the sight. While the spirit had still retained her youthful complexion of a girl barely into womanhood and her piercing eyes remained the color of a summer storm, her hair had no longer retained its original mithril hue. Despite being the same length was instead a pale blonde color that could only be described as Rohirric in origin. It seemed that it was not only her magic and her wings that were taken and that angered her. At least it would help her blend in somewhat she figured bitterly, glaring at her reflection and turning the mirror around before padding over to the window instead to look down at Rivendell and its myriad of waterfalls and river channels.

Several minutes later the Ainur found herself staring at the two different outfits that lay on her neatly made bed courtesy of Aelin who was sent out of the room to give her some privacy, her bare foot tapping against the floor in thought. There was a simple almost gossamer gown the color of a robin's egg embroidered with paler blue patterns around the hems and the collar paired with two simple slippers of the same hue. The second outfit was a vibrant leaf-green thing with a stiffer middle that had branching patterns of yellow and darker green weaving across the fabric accompanied by a pair of finely made yet sturdy leather boots. Zephyr decided to go with the lighter blue gown and slipped off her white nightgown and pulled the other dress over her head, carefully adjusting it so it would not pull at her bandages and turned the mirror around, pointedly ignoring her hair in favor of viewing her clothing. She cocked her head as she examined the unfamiliar garb and gave it an experimental twirl. To her delight that the fabric was so light that it felt like moonlight that had been spun into a fabric as delicate and as a spider's web, floating around her like dust motes before settling back on her skin. She left the shoes still sitting on the bed in favor of leaving her feet bare, the sensation of shoes made her uncomfortable and it limited the movement in her heels and toes when she walked and left the room, her feet moving over the floor with barely a whisper while her gown floated gently behind her.

Zephyr was lost. Although she had seen the great city of Imladris from above, she had never been near it on the ground let alone inside its maze of halls. At first she had decided to wander and explore to clear her mind but after a good two hours she had gotten progressively more bored and frustrated as her hunger grew and her limbs became more and more weak and shaky. Maybe walking around for so long is not such a good idea right after she started recovering from an injury that left her bed-ridden for three days. By the time she had sat down with a sigh on a windowsill overlooking the gardens, her legs were trembling and her shoulder blades ached from underneath the dressings with the unneeded strain of her muscles. "Have you lost your way my lady?" a male voice inquired, causing her to flinch in her seat at the unexpected presence. The owner of the voice stepped into view, a tall man with a stubble beard, long dark hair and intense steel blue eyes dressed in the worn forest hues of ranger garb and road scarred boots. If his garb didn't convince Zephyr that he was a ranger and possibly a Dunedain, his graceful movement and travel worn face certainly did. "It appears so." She admitted with a sheepish smile and a shrug of her sore shoulders, bracing herself for what she needed yet cringed at the thought of saying. "Could you help me.. I can't seem to find the dining hall." The ranger chuckled quietly and offered his arm and she took the needed support gratefully, although she would never admit it and the two began making their way to the dining hall.

After a moment of silence and wallowing in her own embarrassment the spirit finally found the courage to speak up once more. "My name is Sorrun, may I ask what your name is?" "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, although I am known by many as Strider." He answered measuredly and she almost let a knowing smile surface but she pushed it back down and instead nodded politely. Although she had never personally met his forefathers but she had heard of their great deeds and had flown over their mighty kingdoms but also had witnessed their downfall after Isildur had decided to take the Ring instead of destroying it in the fiery pit of Mount Doom. With that introduction the two remained silent for the last few minutes until they reached the dining hall which by now was just beginning to fill up with elves chatting rapidly in Sindarin, their musical voices complementing the soothing hum of Rivendell's magic and creating a balm for the emotionally frayed Ainur. Zephyr thanked Aragorn and broke away, moving towards what looked like a buffet table and carefully picked up a plate, using nearly all of her willpower to grab an armful of food and sprint back to her room wounds be damned to avoid the stares of the elves around her.

Instead she bit the inside of her cheek to keep her nervousness at bay and focused intently on scooping herself a hearty helping of vegetables, bread and fruit before moving to sit a safe distance from most of the elves. Much to her displeasure, two ellons that looked indistinguishable from each other with their matching dark brown hair and piercing grey eyes noticed that she was sitting alone and moved to sit with her. Maybe they were the sons of Elrond? They certainly looked the part. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you finally Lady Sorrun. I am Elrohir and this is my brother Elladan." He said in Common, gesturing towards his sibling the almost blinding grin of a fellow trickster lighting up his face upon introduction and bringing a pang of both joy and pain. "The pleasure is mine. I take it that you two were the ones responsible for taking me here?" She asked and they both nodded their faces darkening identically for a moment before returning to their previous state. They ate the rest of the meal in comfortable silence and the brothers showed her the path to take to return to her room, the azure blue of the sky now replaced by the star-dotted inky quilt of the night sky and her limbs felt leaden and her vision moved in and out of focus. After what seemed an eternity Zephyr finally reached her room and collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to take off her blue gown and succumbed to darkness too tired to cry, her emotional state and healing body taking a toll on her energy.


End file.
